Internationally renowned Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe has passed away after a long illness – aged 85.

His signature works include 17 string quartets and his symphonic poems ‘Kakadu’ and ‘Earth Cry’ – noted for their unusual and percussive timbral effects and said to evoke the sounds and feelings of the Australian bushland and outback.

“Today, Australia lost a musical giant … Peter Sculthorpe much deepened Australia’s musical voice and our country is forever richer because of him,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said in a statement.

A graduate of Oxford University, Maestro Sculthorpe served a long term Emeritus Professorship at the University of Sydney.

Our condolences are with his family, friends, colleagues and students.

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